Many attempts have been made to produce an electrically-powered vehicle using electric motors powered from rechargeable storage batteries. These vehicles have all suffered from the disadvantage that electrical recharging of the batteries takes considerable time, usually a matter of some hours, which shortcoming has rendered this type of vehicle commercially unsuccessful. This invention describes systems for organizing batteries for vehicle or other uses whereby they can be rapidly recharged.
This invention provides a system whereby the batteries of electrically-powered vehicles or other electrically-powered devices may be recharged by filling tanks with liquids that may be dispensed from pumps at service stations, thus avoiding the time required for the electrical recharging of such batteries. The refilling of tanks from service station pumps is a procedure with which the general public is familiar, which fact will foster the acceptance of this invention as applied to electrically-powered vehicles by potential customers. Furthermore the filling of the tanks on the vehicles can be accomplished at any of a plurality of service stations thus permitting the vehicles to have unlimited range of operation.
In addition this invention provides a system for use with electrically-powered vehicles which releases no exhaust substances into the environment by providing that the energy-containing liquids, having been used in the batteries and thereby having been depleted of their energy content, may be retained in tanks on the vehicles from which they may be removed at any of a plurality of service stations at which their energy content can be restored in batteries to which a source of electrical power is supplied, the liquids thereby being recharged to a state suitable to be used to fill the tanks of other electrically-operated vehicles. There is thus a closed cycle in which the liquids are (1) supplied to tanks on the vehicles, (2) used to provide energy to the batteries which power the vehicles, (3) stored after use on the vehicles, (4) removed from the vehicles at service stations, (5) charged with energy by electrical means, (6) resupplied to other vehicles. The operation of this invention is thus conducted without release of chemical substances into the environment.
The batteries to which this invention relates are such that the storage of energy is accomplished solely by changes in the chemical states of liquid electrolytes, the electrodes being unchanged as between the charged and discharged conditions of the battery, said electrodes serving solely to provide electrical contacts to the electrolytes. Such batteries are well known and go by the names of xe2x80x98redox flow cellxe2x80x99, or xe2x80x98regenerative fuel cellxe2x80x99. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,996,064; 4,485,154; 5,318,865; and 5,612,148 disclose examples of such batteries and methods of construction thereof. The batteries described in these patents are recharged electrically. U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,701 discloses a battery having a replaceable liquid electrolyte and an oxidizable metal stack which must periodically be replaced. The construction of the batteries forms no part of the present invention, which relates to systems for their use.
This invention is not restricted to use in conjunction with electrically-powered vehicles. The novelty of this invention consists in the recharging of batteries by the physical transfer of electrolytes from previously charged batteries, and the ability to thus recharge any of a plurality of discharged batteries by physical transfer of electrolytes from any of a plurality of previously charged batteries. The invention may be applied to any situation in which this is advantageous. Accordingly this invention may be used with any electrically-powered device operating from batteries where it is required that the time needed to replenish the energy content of a discharged battery should be minimal. For example, portable battery-operated electric power tools, golf carts, forklift trucks, and powered wheelchairs for the disabled. Other examples will be apparent to those skilled in the art.